This Day In Sports History (February 2nd) – Ian Turnbull

It was on this day in 1977 that Toronto Maple Leafs’ defenseman Ian Turnbull scored five goals during a 9-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. To this day, his 5-goal performance still stands as a record for most goals in a game by an NHL defenseman.

During the game, Turnbull only had five shots on goal, but he made every one of them count as he also became the first player in NHL history to score five goals on only five shots. He would finish that season with a total of 22 goals and 57 assists in 80 games, and he would add another 4 goals and 4 assists through nine playoff games.

Although the combination of Börge Salming and Turnbull gave the Leafs one of the league’s top defensive pairing, it was not enough to bring the franchise a Stanley Cup. Unfortunately for Turnbull, he would never get to raise hockey’s Holy Grail above his head during his 10 year career, but he did come away with a rather significant record that should stand for some time.